All posts for the month May, 2016

I found these pictures on Tumblr, a series called Making Meaning by Tatsuro Kimchi. They’re beautiful and there’s more where they come from. Check out the Tumblr in the link above. The ones I’ve got below all feature children and books. I love this common theme. I really think that it’s important to tell children stories. Write about the stories that your characters heard/read when they were children.

Write a poem about something that didn’t turn out to how it was expected. Were you expecting something to turn out brilliantly and it ended up sucking? Or were you expecting a complete disaster but ended up being pleasantly surprised? Maybe it isn’t so extreme as being great or terrible. Maybe you expected one extreme and got something mundane.

So I’ve been thinking that Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know” and Betty Everett’s ” The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)” would make an interesting mash-up. Thematically they’ve got a very similar thought. It’s very “He loves me, He loves me not.” Today write a scene about how your character knows that someone loves them. What is the sign that says yes this is definitely love?

Write a poem about the feeling of searching for something that you really want or need but can’t seem to find at the right time. Write about the frustration, the desire, and the hope that come along with the search. What are you searching for? Why do you think it can’t seem to be found? What else is found in the process of the search? Do you find things that are close but not quiet right? Or things that will work until you find that perfect thing?

Not too long ago a car that drives itself was the stuff of science fiction but more and more technology has been working towards it. And now it’s here. This driverless Mercedes has been spotted driving around San Francisco. It still even looks like something that was dreamt up for a science fiction movie. Take inspiration from this car. Write a scene about something that seemed like it should be the stuff of fantasy/scifi but is actually available sooner than your character expected.

The kyrielle is a French four-line stanza form that is extremely flexible. The only solid rule is that it has a refrain in the fourth line. There are a few options when it comes to rhyme scheme including: aabb, abab, aaab, abcb. Once you’ve settled on one of the four options stay consistent in your stanzas. There is also no set amount of stanzas. There have to be at least two for the refrain to repeat in the fourth line. But beyond that you’re able to play with it as much as you want so long as you can keep that refrain going.

Eli Lieb and Steve Grand, two out artists that I’ve posted about on here before, have teamed up on a song. “Look Away” is a sad duet about the end of a relationship. Despite the emotional tone of the song though, I’m really excited to see these two artists collaborate. I hope that they each can gain more popularity from each other’s fan bases from this. Write about two characters that you haven’t placed together up until this point working together. What does each character bring to the combination that enhances it?

There’s a book called ‘A Void’ that was written without using the letter E. The original version is in French, but there are over a dozen variations in different languages written by translators who also managed to compose them without using a single E. That’s dedication write there. Today try to write a something of your own that avoids a letter. “E” being the most common letter will be the most challenging but I’m sure it can be a challenge if you pick and vowel. (Except U maybe.)

Life comes with a lot of disappointments. Sometimes we can reduce these disappointments by adjusting our expectations. But that in itself can be disappointing too. Write a poem about the biggest disappointment you’ve experienced your life. Or about your most recent disappointment that really hit home for you. Why did this disappointment carry so much weight? How did it change your perspective if at all?

Another zombie movie is out. This one is called What We Become. This one features a family that gets quarantined saving them from turning. But It doesn’t save them from the violence to come. The actual quarantine may have saved their lives but it triggers a state of panic. This initial spark builds the panic. Write about the moment that starts a state of panic.